


Moments In Between

by AjanisApprentice



Category: Persona 4
Genre: F/M, Yu-centric for the most part
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25497811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AjanisApprentice/pseuds/AjanisApprentice
Summary: Even in a game where you go through the calendar daily, there are still plenty of moments left in between.
Relationships: Amagi Yukiko/Narukami Yu, Amagi Yukiko/Persona 4 Protagonist, Amagi Yukiko/Seta Souji
Comments: 16
Kudos: 65





	1. In which Yu decides Take-Out is certainly worth the price

_September 10th, 2011. Afternoon._

Yu stopped halfway out the door as the rest of the Investigation Team began to file out Hagakaure Ramen, staring at where Teddie had been abandoned. More specifically, the eleventh bowl the bear had nabbed. Ignoring Teddie’s continuous cries for help (he honestly deserved it this time) Yu proceeded to turn to Hagakure. “I don’t suppose you do take-out?” 

Hagakure raised an eyebrow slightly at the question. “Aye, I do kid. What did you have in mind?”

“Do you remember what my friend, the girl in red ordered? I didn’t catch it at the time.” 

Hagakure pursed his lips for a moment before his eyes widened and he turned to stare at Teddie, the bear fidgeting lightly as he began to regain movement. Turning back to Yu, Hagakure treated him to a smile. “You’re a good friend, kid. I’ll get right on that.”

* * *

He ended up nearly missing the train, having to suffer glares from both the teachers for his tardiness and the other students for having to squeeze through them as he tried to find Yukiko but it was worth it. Or at least, he hoped it would be.

After several agonizing minutes of slow navigation through the train, along with several close calls where he nearly dropped his bags (and what a tragedy that would have been, Yu didn’t think he could stand to see Nanako’s face had that lamp broke,) Yu finally managed to spot Yukiko and Chie sitting opposite one another. Chie spotted him first and opened her mouth, likely to call him over, before her eyes zeroed in on his bags. More specifically the Hagakure Ramen take-out bag. Giving him a knowing look, Chie got up stretching.

“Hey Yu, good to see you made it. Yukiko was starting to get worried that you had been left behind while going to get Nanako a souvenir.” Chie turned to Yukiko and gave a light smirk. 

“Chie!” Yukiko’s face began to redden but she didn’t outright deny it and a small part of Yu warmed over the knowledge of her concern. 

“It was a close thing but I did make it on.” 

Chie ‘hmmed’ an acknowledgement before motioning to her seat. “Well, I gotta get up and move. The two of us have been here since we left the Ramen shop early and I’m starting to get antsy. Feel free to have my seat, if I want to sit down I’ll find the others and badger Yosuke until he gives me his.”

As she moved past him Chie gave Yu another pointed look. “You owe me a beef bowl." She whispered and Yu nodded.

“I’ll happily get you one of the Mega ones at Aiya’s. Several in fact.” Yu nodded deeply to her and Chie grinned.

“I’ll be holding you to that.” She whispered before raising her voice to normal tones. “Well, enjoy yourselves you two lovebirds.”

With a wave Chie walked off, leaving Yu to take her seat which he did quickly, plopping down with relief, while maneuvering his bags so as to keep the Hagakure Ramen logo out of Yukiko’s view. Yukiko shook her head at her best friend’s antics but a smile was adorning her face. “Honestly, she could at least try to be a bit subtler.” 

“I don’t know, I’m happy to have her as my wingwoman in all this.” Yu’s response got him a long-suffering look from Yukiko.

“Your encouragement doesn’t exactly help. On that note, I assume all that whispering was about you treating her for some steak for her troubles?”

“Beef bowl actually but yes.”

“Honestly.” Yukiko shook her head, but Yu could see that she was fighting off another smile. “Putting that aside, what took you so long? Were you having trouble finding something for Nanako?”

“A little.” Yu reached down and gently pulled a lamp from one of his bags. “Took me a bit of time to find this. There were a bunch of other things, like some t-shirts and mochi but nothing that was in Nanako’s size or a flavor she liked.” As he placed the lamp back down gently Yu let out a sigh. “I really hope she likes it even though it is just a lamp.”

“Considering it’s coming from you I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic.” Yukiko placed a hand on his knee and gave Yu a smile. “You know how much she adores you.”

“I know. Still can’t help but worry that it will be less than perfect.” Yu shook his head slightly before placing one of his hands on Yukiko’s and grasped it lightly. “Though that wasn’t the main reason I took so long. There was a… special order you could call it that took up most of the time.”

Slowly and carefully Yu reached down and into the Hagakure Ramen bag, pulling out a wrapped bowl that was still hot to the touch. Not unbearably so, rather perfect for consumption. Yukiko’s eyes widened as Yu smiled sheepishly. “I know you wanted to finish that ramen before Teddie got greedy and Hagakure does take-out so… well here you go.” 

Yukiko stared at the wrapped bowl for a moment before looking back up at Yu. “Yu-kun, could you please put it back into the bag?”

Yu’s brow furrowed at her request, slowly putting the ramen back. This had not at all been the reaction he was expecting. “May I ask why?” The question came out slow and carefully, worried he may have done something wrong.

“Because I can’t hug you properly if I’m worried I’ll spill ramen on you.” Before Yu could react, Yukiko had fully embraced him, pulling him into a kiss.

Yes, this was definitely worth the glares and several mega beef bowl specials.


	2. In which Yu and Dojima agree that certain things must remain secret

_October 29th, 2011. Evening._

“Nanako is really looking forward to tomorrow you know.” Yu stiffened at Dojima’s words, stopping mid-opening the fridge. Closing the door the young man turned around slowly to face his uncle as the man continued from behind his newspaper, “She was ecstatic to find out that she’d be free the second day of the culture festival.”

Dojima put down his paper to the side and turned back to Yu to continue but any words he planned to say left his mind as was met with a horrified stare from his nephew. The man’s smile turned to a concerned frown. “Is… is something wrong?”

“...We need to talk. Privately.” Dojima raised an eyebrow but got up and followed his nephew to his room, taking his coffee mug with him. As the two entered Dojima let out a light whistle. 

“I’m still incredibly impressed about just how neat you keep this place. I really appreciate it, y’know?” Yu just nodded dumbly before collapsing on his sofa. Dojima sighed, sitting next to his nephew, placing his coffee mug on the table. “Alright, what is this about?”

Yu let out a long sigh. “...I was signed up in a cross-dressing competiton.”

“YOU WHAT?!” Yu covered his ears and flinched at what was really nothing less than a roar from his uncle.

“I was signed up, WITHOUT MY CONSENT, to a cross-dressing competition my school does.” Yu hissed out, before giving his uncle a glare. “And would you keep it down?! Do you want Nanako to hear you and ask-”

“Dad, what’s going on?” 

The two men flinched at Nanako’s voice floated in from the other side of the door. “It’s… it’s nothing Nanako! Just a little misunderstanding.” Dojima responded, doing his best to try and damage control.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re fine Nananko.” Yu added.

The two stared at the door, still tense, before Nanko let out a sigh. “Okay.” As she walked away the two both relaxed slightly as Dojima cringed a bit.

“Sorry about that. I was… shocked.” 

“Understandably so.” Yu sighed. “That was pretty much the reaction I had when I found out.”

The two fell silent for a moment before Dojima fidgeted nervously, picking up his mug to take a sip. “...I hate to ask this, but do you have any idea who would have signed you up for this? You never really gave off the impression of having made any enemies.” 

Yu was silent for a moment. “...My damn friends.” He finally muttered and Dojima nearly did a spit-take. As it was, the man started choking.

“I’m sorry, what? Your friends put you up to this?!” Dojima finally sputtered out as his coughing fit subsided. Yu inhaled deeply, massaging his temples as he did so.

“Specifically, the girls did so to all of us guys. Or, one of the girls in particular and the others went along with it.” Yu sighed deeply again. “All because Yosuke had to be an absolute moron and think with his dick instead of his head and decided to sign them up, without their consent, to a beauty pageant.”

“...Well… considering that… I can’t exactly say I don’t understand where they’re coming from.” Dojima said after a moment, trying to be as diplomatic as he could. Yu let out a dark laugh at that.

“Oh I agree. Yosuke entirely deserves this mess. But Kanji and I? Neither of us signed them up, and I was borderline furious to hear that he did. And yet still here the two of us are with him.” Dojima nodded a bit at that.

“Well… you all are teenagers. You’re probably are tired of hearing this kind of thing but you guys can pull some pretty stupid crap at times.” 

“Oh believe me, I agree.”

The two fell into silence once more before Doima frowned. “Wait, why can’t you all just pull out from the competitions?”

Yu let out another dark bark of laughter at that. “Because our current teacher is a bigger bitch than Mooroka was a bastard.” Dojima sent him a disapproving look though Yu paid it no mind as he continued “Kashiwagi, our home room teacher, is in charge of both events and she refuses to allow anyone to drop out, even people who were signed up by others.”

“Right.” Dojima grimaced. “So… what time and where so I can keep Nanako and myself as far away as possible?”


	3. In which Nanako meets someone new

_??? _

Nanako awakens to an endless expanse of white all around her. It’s like the fog in that… that other place, though here it seems… cleaner. 

For a moment she’s confused. Is she dreaming? This certainly looks like it could be a dream. Then she remembers. A hospital bed, pain. Everyone gathered around her. Doctors, nurses, her friends. Big Bro.

Is… is this where her mom went? Is this where she is now? Is she… gone? The turmoil washes over her and she begins to sniff, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

“...Who are you?”

Nanako jumps at the sudden voice, turning around in fright. Behind her stands a young man who looks to be around the same age as her big bro. Nanako stares at him, taking him in.

Something… something is oddly familiar about this person. It isn’t the way he looks, she knows she’s never seen anyone like him before. He wears a school uniform that she doesn't recognize. His hair is blue, the same blue as his eyes. He’s bigger than her, but smaller than most of the boys her big bro knows. He’s lanky, thin. He wears a headset, but one that’s different from Yosuke’s. All in all, he is alien to her. But for some reason she can’t place he reminds her of her big bro.

“I- I’m Nanako.” She says, before adding, “Nanako Dojima.”

The boy stares at her for a moment before frowning. “...And what are you doing in a place like this, Nanako Dojima?” 

Nanako fidgets, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. It reminds her of the look her dad would give her if she misbehaved. “I… I don’t know.” She admits. “I… I was in a hospital. Everything hurt. Big bro was there.” As she talks, she begins to sniffle and tears begin to fall.

The boy opposite her stares at her for a moment, before kneeling down to be at eye-level with her. Up this close, Nanako can clearly see just how different he looks from her big bro but she still can’t help but feel something like familiarity.

“Take it easy.” The young man places his hand on her head and ruffles her hair lightly, like her dad or big bro would do. “Just take a moment to breathe.”

Nanako does just that, taking a moment to calm herself down. When she gets her sniffling under control, the young man gives her a smile before getting back up.

“Am… am I gone?” The young man’s smile turns back to a frown as Nanako continues. “Have I gone to heaven? Where mom is?”

The young man stares at her before slowly breathing out. “No. No this is not heaven. You aren’t dead. This place… this place is somewhere in between.”

“In between?” 

The man’s frown deepens. “Yes. In between. And… you don’t belong here. You should be back there. Back in the world of the living.”

Nanako is silent for a moment, not sure how to process this information. After a moment she whispers “I… I don’t know how. I don’t know how I got here and I don’t know how to get back.” 

The young man looks away from her, into the distance. After a moment of silence, a smile forms on his face. “I think I can help with that.” Nanako looks up at his words, eyes wide.

“Y-You can?”

The man nods, walking back over to her and once again kneeling down to eye level. “I think I can.” Turning her around gently, the young man points off into the distance. “Listen closely. Very closely.”

Nanako closes her eyes to try and listen before frowning and opening her eyes again to turn back to the young man. “Listen to what?” She asks.

“The people you left behind. Listen for their voices. They'll lead you back.” The young man responds, before smiling patiently at her. “And keep your eyes closed. It’s easier to focus on the voices that way.” Nanako nods, her eyes closing once more.

For a long while she hears nothing. Slowly though, she begins to make out quiet muffled sounds that begin to get louder and clearer as she concentrates. The sounds turn to voices, then those to words. She can suddenly hear everyone. She can hear her friends, can hear their cries. She can hear her big bro, doing his best not to fall apart. She can hear her dad, just how dead he sounds.

All this because she’s gone? That isn’t okay. She doesn’t want to hurt any of them! She has to go back, has to make sure they feel better! But she can’t tell where the voices are coming from. They seem to surround her, not coming from one specific place.

“Go.” The young man’s voice cuts in. “Follow the voices home.”

“But… but how?” Somehow, even with her eyes closed Nanako can tell the man is smiling behind her. 

“You have to follow them. I can keep you on the path but you must follow them yourself.” As he speaks to her, Nanako can feel the young man take one of her hands in his own soft and warm grip. “Now go.”

And go she does. Slowly at first, before gaining speed. Somehow she seems to know the way and slowly the voices become even more distinct, clearer. She can tell where they are coming from, where she has to go.

As she runs forward though she stops suddenly and she can tell the young man frowns. “Why did you stop?”

Nanako pauses for a moment, too afraid to open her eyes and lose the voices, but knowing she can’t go back just yet. “...What about you?” She asks after a moment. “Are you going back?”

She feels the man’s grasp tighten for a moment. “I… I can’t go back.” He says after several long moments of silence. “I.. I have a job to do here.”

“But aren’t there people who want you back too?” The man’s grip tightens even more, before suddenly going slack.

“Yes. Yes there are. But… but I have to be here. And… they know that.” Nanako can tell the young man’s voice is shaky, like he’s holding back his own tears. “I have a job to do here. A job to keep them safe.”

Nanako frowns at that but before she can offer a retort she realizes that the voices are beginning to grow faint. The young man must realize it as well, because his voice taks on an air of urgency. “You must go, now. If you stay here too long, you won’t be able to go back.”

“But..” Nanako doesn’t know what to say, but… it feels wrong to just leave this person here all by himself, even if he does have a job.

“It’s fine, you still have so much more to do. So much more to experience.” The young man’s words come out with force, but they are filled with warmth.

Something in those words, some sort of hidden and earnest plea gets Nanako moving again. And as she does the voices grow louder and louder, while the hand holding her own seems to feel fainter and fainter. And all the while she begins to feel light on her face, shining through her closed eyes. As the light brightens to a near blinding intensity, she turns her head once more and opens her eyes to get one last look at the young man. He seems almost invisible, nearly completely transparent.

“Who… who are you?” What little of the young man she can still see looks surprised, before a slight smile crosses over his face.

“My name is Minato Arisato. Now go and live, Nanako-chan. Live.” Those are the last words she hears from him as he fades out entirely as her entire vision is filled with the blinding light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Nanako probably needs SO much therapy.


	4. In which Yukiko makes a friend

_September 26th, 2011. Morning_

Yukiko knew that most of the school-no, most of the town, considered her calm, composed and unflappable. They thought her calm and demure, unable to be shaken or flustered. But oh was she shaken and flustered now, losing whatever composure she had when she first thought this through. Still though, she on at least a weekly basis confronted eldritch horrors spawned in an alternate dimension inside a TV. This should be easy in comparison. Or so she told herself.

“Excuse me? Ebihara-san?” Yukiko could see Ai stiffen at her voice before she turned to stare at her with an indifferent look. Or one that would be indifferent were it not for the cold gaze the other girl gave her. and inwardly she flinched. She really did mess up her first impression with the girl. Of course, that was all the more reason she had to go through with this.

“Amagi-san. Did you need something?” The words themselves were polite enough but the tone conveyed Ai’s clear annoyance at the Amagi heiress. Still, it wouldn’t be enough to turn her away.

“Yes, actually. I wanted to know if I could speak to you privately?” Ai’s look of indifference turned to a slight glare as the girl let out a hiss of air through pursed lips. 

“Fine. Let’s head to the roof and get this over with.”

With that, Ai led the way, Yukiko following behind her at a slight distance. The short walk was short and filled with a tense silence, giving Yukiko time to reflect on her conversation with Yu yesterday.

* * *

_“I’m sorry Yukiko. I should have explained the situation when you first called.” The two teenagers were sitting outside Croco Fur, an ice cream in each one’s hands. Yukiko shook her head at Yu’s words and apologetic tone._

_“No, I’m the one at fault here. I overreacted… and probably just ruined your friendship.” The girl looked despondent and Yu moved without even thinking, taking her free hand in his own and squeezed it lightly._

_“We both messed up. Like I said, I should have fully explained why I was busy when you called. I didn’t think it would be important but that was foolish of me. I’m as much at fault for this as you are.”_

_Yukiko let out a sigh. “Maybe, but I still acted like… well, like a jealous and clingy bi-”_

_“Nope. Not letting you finish that.” Yu interrupted her, a frown on his face. “No one gets to call you something like that. Not even yourself.”_

_Yukiko sighed but did shoot her boyfriend a quick smile. “You get the point though.”_

_Yu nodded before he began to snicker lightly. Yukiko raised an eyebrow at that and he let go of her hand to wave his own dismissively. “It’s nothing. It just really hit me that we’re both so new to this whole relationship thing and we’re bumbling around.”_

_Yukiko thought for a moment before she too began to snicker and then started outright laughing. “You-You’re right.” She managed after a bit. “We really are just two bumbling teenaged idiots.” As her fit subsided she added “Not that I mind. It’s… nice to have this normalcy what with everything else we get up to.”_

_“True.” Yu nodded and the two fell back to silently eating their ice cream, Yukiko moving over slightly to lean on Yu’s shoulder. After a while longer, she spoke up again._

_“I still feel horrible though. Ebihara-san didn’t deserve that.”_

_“Then apologize to her.” Yukiko looked at Yu and the teen smiled. “You’ve apologized to me, despite my insistence of it being unnecessary. No reason not to do so to her as well, right?”_

* * *

“Well, what is it?” Ai’s curt voice snapped Yukiko from her reverie and the girl realized that the two had basically made it to the roof, Ai just getting out of the stairwell right ahead of her. “If this is about yesterday then please spare me. Just because you may be dating him doesn’t mean-” 

As Ai turned around the rest of the sentence died in her throat as she was met with Yukiko, hands clasped in front of her, bowing incredibly deeply in a very clear gesture of apology.

“I’m sorry,” Yukiko said, doing her best to sound as contrite as possible and hoping Ai could tell that she was being genuine. “The way I acted yesterday was impolite, immature and incredibly childish. Earlier in the day I had asked Yu if he wanted to go out and he had told me he had already made plans for today. I had no problem with that when he told me but when I later saw you two… well, you can probably imagine how I felt. Still though, that isn’t an excuse and I truly regret how I behaved.” As she finished, Yukiko straightened herself back up to look at Ai’s response.

The other girl was silent and stared at her intensely and Yukiko began to feel the anxiety come over her again. The heiress refused to let it overtake though and stood still, awaiting Ai to pass her judgement.

After several long moments of silence Ai’s lips began to turn down in a frown and Yukiko mentally braced herself for some form of rebuke. But instead of rebuke, the only word that came from Ai’s lips was “Why?” 

Yukiko blinked owlishly and Ai sighed. “Why would you apologize? And no, I don’t mean why you should apologize, you very succinctly summed it up just now. I mean why would you go up to a girl you hardly know and openly say you acted like a brat to her, especially in regards to a matter with your boyfriend?”

Yukiko’s face morphed to an expression of confusion. “Why wouldn’t I?” The responding question came earnestly and honestly. “The way I acted was completely inappropriate. You didn’t deserve to be treated that way so of course I’d apologize.”

Ai stared at her for a moment before the other girl’s frown quirked upwards and she let out a light laugh. “I can see why the two of you ended up together. You’re both so strange.” Before Yukiko could reply or even bristle at the comment, Ai’s face relaxed a bit and her gaze began to feel warmer. “Still though… thank you for that. It… I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” Yukiko let out a relieved breath she didn’t know she had been holding and gave Ai a smile of her own. “Now, can we try and start again and have a proper introduction this time?”

Another laugh escaped Ai, the girl shaking her head but her smile grew even larger. “You really are quite strange. But why not?” With a light bow to Yukiko, Ai continued “I’m Ai Ebihara, class two dash three.”

Yukiko mirrored the other girl's actions, her own smile growing as well. “Yukiko Amagi, class two dash two. I hope we can be friends Ai-san.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I absolutely love the scene where Ai can be run off by Yukiko? Yes. I love and adore Yukiko's moments of being an absolute spitfire. But I also recognize that that is pretty immature. She is a teenager though, and we all have made incredibly foolish and immature decisions when we were teens.
> 
> Also, I have no idea if this can even happen if you don't go the temporary-lovers route with Ai but I assume it can.


	5. In which Dojima really regrets answering the door

_ April 8th, 2012. Night _

Dojima sighed lightly to himself, having just gotten back to the living room from tucking Nanako in. Moments like these even now left him feeling bittersweet, seeing just how much his daughter reminded him of Chisato. Though he had learned not to trade these moments for anything. He’d be forever indebted to his nephew for that. 

Not that he’d ever tell Yu that of course. Ryotara Dojima had an image to uphold after all.

Once his thoughts were already turned to his nephew, Dojima’s mind began to wander. He knew Yu planned to come during the short break he’d get in May and despite it still being basically a month away, Dojima was already busy making plans. Or more accurately, he was being strung along as the rest of Yu’s friends roped him into their plans. 

_ Crazy kids, the lot of them.  _ Despite the wording of the thought, Dojima found a smile working its way onto his face from it.

Right as the man was about to sit down on the couch a sudden set of knocks caused his smile to disappear and a groan to form. Placing his mug down on the table, Dojima headed to the front door. “One moment,” he called out when he got close enough that he was sure his words wouldn’t carry to Nanako’s room.

Before opening the door though, Dojima returned to his room, quickly grabbing his pistol. Nanako’s kidnapping may have been half a year ago but it was going to take a long time before he stopped being zealously cautious, if ever. Holding his pistol behind him out of the line of vision of anyone who may enter, Dojima returned to the front door and opened it. 

The sight that greeted Dojima was enough to stun him. Standing opposite him was a man he knew all too well and it took all of Dojima’s self control to not level his gun at the visitor and order him to leave.

“I apologize for the late call but I didn’t want to risk interrupting you during your work, or having your daughter see me as I doubt she’d be happy to do so. I didn’t want to make her have flashbacks or cause her panic,” Taro Namatame said and a small rational part of Dojima recognized the sincerity the man’s tone carried. 

The rest of him, the father of a girl who had been kidnapped, was tensed and nearly ready to pistol-whip the man straight in the temple, damn the consequences.

“And I don’t suppose you considered whether I would be happy to see you?” Dojima asked, the venom dripping from his words. Namatame took it gracefully though, merely shrugging.

“No, I did not, but I know this is something that needs to happen. For both of us.”

Dojima stared the man down for a long moment before letting out an incredibly long sigh. “Get your ass in here and talk quick, before I change my mind and make the smart choice of refusing to deal with this bull, at this hour no less.”

Namatame looked to his watch as he entered, raising an eyebrow as it read only half-past nine but wisely kept that fact to himself.

* * *

Despite his clear animosity, Dojima still went ahead and brewed his guest a cup of coffee. He wasn’t even sure why he did, it just felt wrong on some deep level not to.  _ Damn habits. _ The thought ran through the detective’s head as he placed the mug in front of Namatame.

For a few minutes the two were silent, sipping their drinks silently, waiting for the other to do or say something. Eventually though Dojima ran out of whatever small amount of patience he had for the silence.

“I’m going to be blunt. I don’t want to talk to you. I don't care for what you have to say. So let’s make this as quick as possible so you can leave and we both can move on with our lives.” To Namatame’s credit the man didn’t even so much as flinch at Dojima’s words, merely finishing his drink before placing the mug back down.

“I… I want… no I need to apologize.” Namatame’s voice was steady but his hands were shaking and Dojima was glad the other man had finished his drink. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry… I don’t know how much you know, how much your nephew told you-”

“If you mean the stuff about the TV, I decided to pretend I’ve heard nothing,” Dojima cut the man off, a grimace adorning his face. “There are some things I think I’m better off remaining blissfully ignorant about.”

Namatame’s own frown deepened at that, looking down and staring at his mug. “Still… You know that there’s more than the official reports. You know I had something to do with it all. I’m not just some victim, I was behind so much, even if I was manipulated. I did so much damage. I kidnapped your daughter, nearly got her killed because of a damn messiah complex-”

“Is there a point to all this?” Dojima’s harsh but quiet voice cut Namatame off and the man glanced up at Dojima. The detective was glaring at him intensely with a scowl that sent a chill down Namatame’s back. “You said you wanted to apologize but apart from that quick ‘I’m sorry’, all I’m hearing is someone wallowing in self-loathing. And I don’t really have the patience to hear it. So why are you telling me all this?”

“Because… because I deserve to be punished.” Dojima raised an eyebrow as Namatame continued. “Even after everything I did there were no consequences. I got off with a slap on the wrist at most, simply because there wasn’t enough hard evidence, despite you and those children knowing damn well I did all of this! They didn’t even pin anything about the kidnapping on me, just saying it was all temporary insanity! I can’t even say my reputation is ruined, it was already sunk! I got off entirely free and I don’t deserve that!” 

Dojima’s scowl merely grew at this. “So you’re saying you want the easy way out,” the detective growled out and that made Namatame pause. Dojima had been visibly tense and upset throughout their entire interaction but now he almost seemed to radiate fury.

“I-I’m not sure why you think that’s what I want,” Namatame stammered out. “Everything I’ve said- I’ve just been talking about how I don’t deserve the easy way out!”

Dojima was silent for a moment but he didn’t look like he had nothing to say. The man simply stared at Namatame for a long while with an expression of such disdain and disgust that Namatame had to fight the urge to curl up and whimper. Finally, when it seemed like Namatame was nearly ready to jump to his feet and flee, Dojima shook his head. “No, what you've been saying is that you want to be punished. That you want the simple easy method. You go to prison, you live out your sentence, and you say justice has been served. All without actually doing anything.” Dojima himself never once raised his voice but the detective didn’t need to. The words slammed into Namatame almost as if they carried a physical weight and the man flinched.

The detective got up and took Namatame’s cup before walking to the kitchen to place the mugs into the sink. As he passed the other man Dojima paused to look down at him. “You want to apologize? Go ahead, but the words themselves are empty. But if you want to show that you actually mean it, think about what you can do to help this town move on. Because you played a part in the terror of last year that affected more than just my daughter and I. So go and think of something you can do to make up for all this, something that you can do to help improve everyone's lives.”

With that Dojima entered the kitchen, leaving Namatame’s view. At the sound of the tap being turned on, Dojima added, “Now do us both a favor and leave before Nanako inevitably wakes up. She seems to have an uncanny knack for wandering into situations when doing so is bad for her health… mental or otherwise.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing Dojima read someone the riot act is always incredible.


	6. In Which Dojima Forgets To Knock

_ September 18th, 2011. Mid-Afternoon. _

Dojima let out a quiet sigh as he got back from work, slipping his shoes off as he entered his home. He almost never got off early; figures the boys at the station would let him have an early leave on a day when Nanako was out at a friend’s. Still though, this did mean he’d have a chance to surprise his daughter when she got home and the thought of her glee at seeing her dad waiting for her with something nice got Dojima to smile. 

Maybe he should get something from Junes? No, too easy. True his daughter loved the place but he wanted to put in a bit more effort than just something from a supermarket. Besides, what Nanako loved was going there and it wouldn’t be the same if he just bought something without her and brought it back.

Pursing his lips in thought, Dojima turned towards the stairwell. He was under no illusions about his cooking abilities, but his nephew… Dojima had to hand it to Yu, the kid knew how to make food that would get your mouth watering. If the detective had to guess he’d bet that Yu learned due to his parents’ busy schedule and that he would need to make his own meals, but he pushed the thought out of his head quickly. Tonight was going to be fun and celebratory, no need to linger on depressing thoughts.

His nephew had said earlier that he was planning on spending the day catching up on studying so he likely was home at the moment. Nodding to himself, Dojima headed to Yu’s room, plan of action decided upon. He had no doubt his nephew would be happy to help in his little surprise gift to Nanako and frankly the detective was eager to get started.

Looking back on this moment in the future, Dojima would admit that he was too eager and really should have known better. He himself had been a teenage boy after all, he should not have let his own excitement make him forget one of the basic principles every guardian of a teenager knew well.

Always knock.

Instead Dojima didn’t stop to even announce himself nor was he even aware enough to take notice of any possible noises coming from said room, merely walking straight up to his nephew’s door and opening it. “Hey Yu, surprise surprise I’m home early! I was thinking we could-” 

Time seemed to freeze as the door opened, Dojima stopping mid-sentence at the sight that greeted him. His nephew was not at his work desk, instead Yu was lying on the couch and he wasn’t alone as straddling him was the Amagi girl who was pulling away from his nephew’s face. Both of the teens were blushing madly, Amagi more so than his nephew, and judging by their more than a little disheveled looks, Dojima guessed they had been going at it for quite some time.

Thankfully whatever amorous activities the two were in middle of hadn’t seem to have gone too far. Yu was shirtless and his belt was on the floor but his pants were still on. The Amagi girl at least had a bra on and her skirt was still completely on.

All of this was registered in less than a second, his time investigating crime scenes having honed Dojima’s perception to such a point where the world would freeze as he took in all information he could from a glance. Then the world resumed and Dojima was met with a shriek and a hastily thrown cushion from the Amagi girl that he managed to catch before it smacked him straight in the face.

“Dojima I- You’re usually not home this early!” It wasn’t often he saw his nephew so flustered and were it not for the circumstances, Dojima likely would have been smirking. As it was though the man merely let out a long sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“No, usually I’m not,” the detective responded. For a moment the three were silent, the two teens staring at Dojima while the man rubbed his temples, eyes closed to give Amagi some semblance of modesty. 

Finally, the detective broke the silence. “Both of you, come downstairs. I’d like to talk.” With that Dojima walked out of the room, before stopping to add “And for the love of all that is decent, both of you please put a shirt on before you come down. It may not faze me much given the stuff I see on the job, but I don’t want any neighbors accidentally seeing you two through a window and getting any wrong ideas.”

* * *

Yu and Amagi sat together though the two teens were making a very conscious effort to put space between themselves without it looking too obvious. Dojima had to fight back the urge to roll his eyes. Really, they were making this far more awkward than it needed to be.

“You know you two really don’t need to be doing this. I literally just walked in on you both going at it.” Amagi blushed madly at that while Yu shifted nervously and Dojima paused to really reconsider his life’s choices. If he had known that watching his nephew would have to entail awkward moments like this he would have never agreed to his sister’s request.

...Okay, if he was being honest this wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the other conversations on his parenting-skills he had had with his nephew but still. 

“Dojima, I-” Yu stopped as his uncle raised a hand.

“Don’t apologize. I was a teenager too. I get it.” While the words were likely meant to help soothe things, any comfort Yu would have taken from them was snatched away as Dojima continued “Though I at least had the good sense to lock my doors.”

“Yeah well, you really should have knocked.” The Amagi girl’s eyes widened and her face went white as the two men in the room turned to stare at her, both clearly shocked. “I… I just said that aloud, didn’t I?” 

Before she could bury her face in her hands (or get up and run out of the house, she honestly looked ready to bolt) Dojima let out a bark of laughter. “So you’re actually a bit of a spitfire Amagi.” 

Amagi blushed deeply at that and at this point she did bury her face in her hands while Dojima just continued to laugh. “It was a compliment.”

“Uh, thank you Dojima-san?” Amagi’s voice was a little hesitant but at least she placed her hands back down and wasn’t blushing as much so that was something. Still though, Dojima shook his head.

“No need for honorifics or titles Amagi. Dojima alone is fine.”

Amagi tilted her head slightly, seeming to think it over before she nodded. “Fine. But then just call me Yukiko.”

“Fair enough.” Dojima’s smile turned into more of a hard line after this though as he let out a sigh. “With all that said, I want to make something clear. You’re still kids, teenagers or not, and while I have no problem with more… amorous activities, I expect you both to be smart about it and safe.” Dojima gave the two a hard stare as he continued. “You’re both smart kids, I’m pretty sure I don’t have to spell it out for you. I’m not going to be explicit one way or another because I trust you both to be responsible and I don’t like the idea of setting hard limits. Don’t make me regret that.”

The two teens nodded and while they did look serious they also clearly were relieved by the way their bodies untensed and Yu moved closer to Amagi-Yukiko to grasp her hand is his. Dojima had to fight back a smile at the action, remembering memories of Chisato and himself.

“Thank you Dojima,” Yu said, not even bothering trying to hide his relief from his uncle. “I’ll be honest, I expected something more…”

“Harsh?” Dojima asked, at this point a smirk forming. “Nah, I remember when I was a teenager. I don’t want to put my own nephew through the hell Chiasato’s parents put me through. Besides, I’m sure Yukiko’s parents went through that whole song and dance already.”

Suddenly the two teens stiffened, their looks of relief gone. An awkward tension filled the room as Dojima stared at the two, his smirk slowly being replaced with a look of exasperation as he realized what this meant.

“Oh god, they don’t even know yet, do they?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure I quite stuck the ending this time but eh, what can you do?


End file.
